Reported by journalist Wang Wei During the U20 Women's Asian Cup quarter-final on April 11 at 21:00, the Chinese team, with goals from Zeng Yujia and Yu Jiaqi, beat the Uzbekistan team 2-1, successfully moving into the semi-finals and also earning a spot in the U20 Women's World Cup taking place in Poland this September.

Played their best 45 minutes

In this U20 Women's Asian Cup, the Chinese team successively defeated Vietnam 3-0, Bangladesh 2-0, and Thailand 1-0 in Group A, achieving a record of three wins, scoring 6 goals and conceding 0, topping the group to advance. In the quarter-final, China's opponent was Uzbekistan, who finished third in Group B.

Since this match was crucial for direct qualification to the Poland U20 Women's World Cup, the Chinese team took it very seriously, fielding the exact same starting lineup as in the previous match against Thailand: the forward line paired Zhou Xinyi with Yu Jiaqi, midfield led by Xie Zongmei, Wang Aifang, Xiao Yafei, Yu Xingyue, and Zeng Yujia, the defense line consisted of Wu Jiaxuan, Li Ke, and captain Liu Ling, with goalkeeper Liu Chen.

After the match began, the Chinese team performed excellently, controlling the game. In the 29th minute, China launched a quick attack, Wu Jiaxuan delivered a pass, Yu Jiaqi received the ball and swiftly advanced down the left flank before crossing, Zeng Yujia leaped high in the center and powerfully headed the ball into the net, 1-0, China took the lead. In the 42nd minute, Xie Zongmei broke into the left side of the penalty area and shot, but the opponent's goalkeeper Sevinoova saved it; she quickly regained possession causing a passing error in the opponent's penalty area, the following Yu Jiaqi shot with her right foot, Sevinoova fumbled the save, and the ball bounced into the net in the opposite direction, China extended the score to 2-0.

After switching sides, when the match reached the 69th minute, Uzbekistan attacked from the flank, Aminyonova delivered a cross from the right side, Egamberdieva at the front, sandwiched between two Chinese defenders, managed to shoot and score, making the score 2-1, the atmosphere on the field grew increasingly tense. In the 79th minute, a left-side corner kick from Uzbekistan caused chaos in China's penalty area, Dakova shot from close range but was blocked by Xiao Yafei at the goalmouth.

Finally, after five minutes of added time, the Chinese team defeated the opponent 2-1, advancing to the tournament semi-finals and securing the ticket to the Poland World Cup.

After the match, the Chinese team head coach Colin Bell generously praised his players: "Our players played brilliantly, I think the first 45 minutes displayed our best performance so far."

“We started a bit slowly in the second half, the Uzbekistan team is a strong side, they seized the opportunity when our defense relaxed, showing their fighting spirit, but the Chinese girls remained calm, which is commendable.” Colin Bell stated that although Uzbekistan scored one back in the second half, the Chinese team still had the capability to score more in that half.

“When you dominate so much, you must put the ball into the net more frequently.” Colin Bell said, “My job is to take the kids to the World Cup, as head coach, my heart was in my throat near the end of the match, but I tried not to put too much pressure on them. Hopefully this excitement can last until the end of this tournament, they are just kids and should enjoy it properly.”

Must focus on defense in the semi-final

After winning this quarter-final, the Chinese U20 women's football team finally, after an eight-year gap, once again secured qualification for the World Cup. China's last participation was in the 2018 Women's U20 World Cup held in France. At that time, the Chinese team had one win, one draw, and one loss in the group stage, failing to advance due to a disadvantage in goal difference. Subsequently, for the 2020, 2022, and 2024 World Cups, China was eliminated in the Asian Cup group stage each time and thus missed participation (the 2020 World Cup was canceled due to the pandemic).

This U20 Women's Asian Cup presented a great opportunity for the Chinese team. Firstly, the number of participating teams expanded from 8 to 12, reducing the pressure on China's group advancement. Secondly, China was grouped with Thailand, the weakest top-tier team and host, avoiding traditional powerhouses like North Korea, South Korea, Japan, and Australia in the group stage, significantly increasing the likelihood of group advancement. Ultimately, China topped the group with three wins, securing a favorable position for the knockout stage, enabling them to face Uzbekistan, the third-place team from Group B, in the quarter-final.

Of course, the Chinese U20 women's football team's strength has also improved under the guidance of British coach Colin Bell. Players Wang Aifang and Xie Zongmei recently followed the Chinese women's senior team to participate in the Asian Cup, with Wang Aifang even getting starting opportunities. Additionally, Yu Jiaqi, Luo Luo, Huang Jiaxin, Li Ke, Xiao Yafei, and goalkeeper Liu Chen have all participated in senior national team training camps in recent years. Colin Bell emphasizes nurturing后备力量, he特意 promoted跨年龄段 the young player Zhou Xinyi, who participated in last year's U17 Women's World Cup, to the U20 women's national team, and this 18-year-old forward from Shanghai lived up to expectations, starting in the crucial matches against Thailand and Uzbekistan.

At 21:00 Beijing time on April 15, the Chinese U20 women's football team will face the Japanese U20 women's football team in the Asian Cup semi-final.

In the group stage, the Japanese team defeated India 6-0, Chinese Taipei 2-0, and Australia 5-2, advancing to the quarter-finals as group winners. In the quarter-final, Japan又 defeated Vietnam 4-0. So far in the tournament, Japan has scored 17 goals and conceded only 2. Facing such a strong offensive from Japan, the Chinese team must做好功课 in defense.

Based on the good performances in two consecutive crucial matches, Colin Bell is likely to maintain the same lineup in the semi-final to contend with Japan.